Lionel Messi Set To Sign New Barcelona Contract

Argentina’s star footballer Lionel Messi, who recently got married to long-time partner Antonella Roccuzzo, will sign a new contract with Barcelona when he returns from his honeymoon in the middle of this month.

As per goal.com, Messi was set to return to the Catalan capital with his family over the weekend, but will now not be back until around July 12.

However, after the wedding, the couple changed their plans and is now in the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda for their honeymoon with sons Thiago and Mateo.

It is expected that Barcelona’s players are expected at the training ground in Sant Joan Despi for medical examinations on July 12 ahead of club’s pre-season preparations and Messi will be back by then.

The Argentine will be out of contract in 2018. However, a new deal is all but finalised after months of negotiations between the player, his father, Jorge, and the club.

The fresh agreement will keep the five-time Ballon d’Or winner at Camp Nou until 2021 with the option of one further season.

The 30-year-old, who made his debut for Barca in 2004, won 30 trophies during his time at the Catalan club, scoring more than 500 goals. This new contract could see him retire at Camp Nou, despite him reiterating his desire to end his career at his boyhood club, Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina, which he left at the age of 13 to join Barca’s youth academy.

Messi would be hoping that his recent marriage and the imminent signing of his new contract serves as a good omen for his new season, after a disappointing 2016-17 season by his extremely high standards. After the Euros, La Liga and back-to-back Champions League successes that his rival Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed, it would take an extraordinary start to the season for Messi to be crowned FIFA World Player of the Year, with Ronaldo looking the most likely to take home the crown.